Cougars upset Huskies

Seattle, WA (Sports Network) – Josh Akognon netted 27 points and hit a key
three-pointer late in the game to lead the Washington State Cougars to a 78-71
upset victory over the 10th-ranked Washington Huskies at Bank of America
Arena.

Kyle Weaver added 19 points and Robbie Cowgill chipped in 12 points and
grabbed seven rebounds, as the Cougars (9-3, 2-1 Pac-10) won for the fifth
time in their last six games.

Brandon Roy poured in 27 points to lead the Huskies (12-2, 1-2), who have lost
two out of their last three at home. On New Year’s Eve, the Huskies lost to
Arizona, ending the nation’s longest homecourt winning streak at 32 games.

With the upset victory, Washington State also won for the first time in 12
meetings as the visitor in the all-time series.

With the game tied at 71-71 with 20 seconds to play in the game, Akognon
drilled a three-pointer to put the Cougars up 74-71.

“I knew I was going to make my shot,” said Akognon. “I was trying to take a
leadership role and keep the team poised, and it worked and we won the game.”

On the next possession, Roy lost control of the ball and turned it over.
Akognon sank two shots from the charity stripe to put his team up 76-71 with
12 seconds remaining.

With five seconds to play, Brandon Burmeister missed a three-pointer and
Cowgill hit two free throws to seal the upset win.

The Huskies opened the game with a 13-2 spurt with Roy leading the way
with eight points during the stretch.

The Cougars fought back and ended the opening half on a 9-0 run to head into
the break down only 33-31. Caleb Forrest netted five points in the spurt.

Roy had an outstanding opening 20 minutes for Washington scoring 16 points on
6-of-8 shooting from the field.

With the Huskies leading 52-50, the Cougars ripped off a 9-0 run to take a
59-52 lead with less than eight minutes to go. Washington State continued to
lead until Roy tied things up at 71-71 hitting two from the charity stripe.

Game Notes

Washington State is now 2-1 on the road…The Cougars shot 53.6 percent from
the floor and were 6-of-13 from the beyond the arc…Ivory Clark added 10
points and seven rebounds for Washington State…The Cougars held a 32-28
advantage in rebounds.